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Javalin VS ExpressJS

Compare Javalin VS ExpressJS and see what are their differences

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Javalin logo Javalin

Simple REST APIs for Java and Kotlin

ExpressJS logo ExpressJS

Sinatra inspired web development framework for node.js -- insanely fast, flexible, and simple
  • Javalin Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-10-26
  • ExpressJS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-14

Javalin features and specs

  • Lightweight
    Javalin is a lightweight framework with minimal dependencies, making it easy to integrate into existing projects and reducing overhead.
  • Simplicity
    The framework is simple to use and has a straightforward API, which makes it easier for developers to understand and work with.
  • Kotlin & Java Support
    Javalin natively supports both Kotlin and Java, making it flexible for projects written in either language.
  • WebSocket Support
    It includes built-in support for WebSockets, enabling real-time communication between the client and server without additional dependencies.
  • Extensive Documentation
    Javalin comes with comprehensive documentation and guides, which help developers get up to speed quickly.

Possible disadvantages of Javalin

  • Limited Features
    As a minimalist framework, Javalin may lack some advanced features present in more comprehensive frameworks, requiring additional implementations from developers.
  • Community Support
    While growing, the community around Javalin is not as large as other established frameworks, which may result in fewer resources or third-party libraries.
  • Performance Overhead
    Though lightweight, Javalin may not offer the same level of performance optimization as frameworks specifically designed for high-performance use cases.
  • Limited Middleware
    Compared to other frameworks, the middleware support in Javalin is more limited, potentially requiring additional code for customization.

ExpressJS features and specs

  • Fast Setup
    ExpressJS provides a minimal and flexible framework that allows rapid setup and development of web and mobile applications.
  • Middleware Support
    ExpressJS has a robust middleware system, allowing developers to add reusable functions to the request-handling pipeline.
  • Extensibility
    ExpressJS is highly extensible through third-party libraries and built-in functionality, catering to the needs of various applications.
  • Performance
    Due to its minimalist core, ExpressJS provides efficient performance and is capable of handling a high number of requests per second.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    A large and active community provides extensive documentation, support, and a wide array of open-source packages to extend functionality.
  • Flexibility
    Compared to full-stack frameworks, ExpressJS gives developers the freedom to structure their applications as they see fit.
  • Compatibility
    ExpressJS works seamlessly with various template engines, databases, and other frameworks, making it versatile for different project requirements.

Possible disadvantages of ExpressJS

  • Minimalist Core
    The minimalist nature of ExpressJS may require additional time and effort to integrate required plugins and libraries for specific features.
  • Learning Curve
    While ExpressJS is straightforward, mastering the middleware pattern and effective usage can have a learning curve for new developers.
  • Callback Hell
    Developers can encounter 'callback hell' due to nested callback functions, though this can be mitigated using Promises and async/await in modern JavaScript.
  • Lack of Convention
    Unlike opinionated frameworks, ExpressJS lacks conventions, which can lead to inconsistent code structure and maintenance challenges across different projects.
  • Security
    ExpressJS does not have built-in security features and relies on third-party solutions, requiring developers to be vigilant about applying best security practices.
  • Scalability
    While ExpressJS can handle high traffic, building and maintaining a highly scalable application might require significant additional effort, particularly in terms of codebase organization and resource management.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Javalin and ExpressJS)
Web Frameworks
11 11%
89% 89
JavaScript Framework
0 0%
100% 100
Developer Tools
7 7%
93% 93
Runtime
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Javalin and ExpressJS

Javalin Reviews

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ExpressJS Reviews

Top JavaScript Frameworks in 2025
Express.JS is used to create Restful APIs, which is useful for accepting requests from the front end and sending the appropriate response. Express.JS supports Node.js, which is one of the best reasons developers choose to use it. Moreover, debugging becomes faster and helps in finding errors in less time.
Source: solguruz.com
The 20 Best Laravel Alternatives for Web Development
Express.js — or Express for the cool cats — is Node.js’s minimalist wingman. It’s the train tracks for your web app, setting the path, defining the stops, but letting you drive the engine.
Top 9 best Frameworks for web development
The best frameworks for web development include React, Angular, Vue.js, Django, Spring, Laravel, Ruby on Rails, Flask and Express.js. Each of these frameworks has its own advantages and distinctive features, so it is important to choose the framework that best suits the needs of your project.
Source: www.kiwop.com
9 Best JavaScript Frameworks to Use in 2023
Additionally, Express.js v4 now comes with built-in middleware for handling AJAX requests from the client side, making it even easier to get started without having to worry about 3rd party libraries. Express.js is a great tool for quickly building out web applications and APIs in Node.js.
Source: ninetailed.io
JavaScript: What Are The Most Used Frameworks For This Language?
Express.JS is a popular open-source web application framework for Node.JS, which is a server-side JavaScript runtime environment. Express.JS provides a simple, flexible and scalable way to build web applications and APIs using Node.JS. It is known for its minimalist and unimposing approach, which means it provides a basic set of features and tools but allows developers to...
Source: www.bocasay.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ExpressJS seems to be a lot more popular than Javalin. While we know about 466 links to ExpressJS, we've tracked only 36 mentions of Javalin. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Javalin mentions (36)

  • Year After Switching from Java to Go: Our Experiences
    But Javas has so many of these web frameworks?! * Spring (https://spring.io/) * Spring Boot (https://spring.io/projects/spring-boot) * Helidon (https://helidon.io/) * Micronaut (https://micronaut.io/) * Quarkus (https://quarkus.io/) * JHipster (https://www.jhipster.tech/) * Vaadin (https://vaadin.com/) That's just to mention the bigger ones, there's lots of mini frameworks like Javalin (https://javalin.io/) and... - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Latudio – a language acquisition app with a listening-oriented approach
    - like Sentences exercise, but you can select your own set of sentences. You can also set goals and view statistics about your progress. None of this would be possible without the great help from hundreds of our contributors [3], who translated, mapped and recorded content. All the content you find in the app was reviewed multiple times by several people and recordings are made by native speakers. No story in the... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • Show HN: Donobu – Mac App for Web Automation and Testing
    - Javalin 6 for the web framework (https://javalin.io/). - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Spark – A web micro framework for Java and Kotlin
    I'd recommend Javalin (https://javalin.io/) instead. Same idea, only executed better and it is actively maintained. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Spark – A web micro framework for Java and Kotlin
    SparkJava has an actively developed fork/successor called Javalin[1]. It's straightforward to convert from SparkJava to Javalin. The latter is written in Kotlin, but works fine with ordinary Java. While the rest of the Java world was devolving into annotation hell, AOP and other nightmares, these Java microframeworks showcased what happens when you forego legacy Java and leverage modern Java language features... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
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ExpressJS mentions (466)

  • Reusable API proxy in just a few lines of JavaScript
    The basis of my small API proxy is the NPM package http-proxy-middleware from Steven Chim, which I utilized to build a system that can be used via configuration for various endpoints and that runs on a server under the Node.js framework Express. - Source: dev.to / 8 days ago
  • How To Fetch Image From Database and Display In React JS
    Express Documentation This site has comprehensive guides on setting up routes, handling requests, and working with middleware in Express. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Show HN: MetroJS – JavaScript HTTPS Client with Middleware
    Hi, I've made a javascript https client, based on the browsers Fetch API, with added middleware support. Prebuilt middleware includes JSON, OAuth2.1 and OIDC (OpenID Connect). Differences with for example Axios, is that middleware can capture both request and response in a single function. Middleware is stackable. It is also completely backwards compatible with the Fetch API. Direct inspiration came from Express... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • Which Go Web Backend Framework Is Right for Your Next Project? A Detailed Analysis of Features and Performance
    Fiber draws direct inspiration from Express.js, a widely used web framework in the Node.js ecosystem. It is built on top of Fasthttp, known for its exceptional speed and low memory usage. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • How To Fetch (Get) HTML From Server 🛤️
    To do this, let's create an API route, through which we will receive HTML from the server. For the backend part, we will use Node.js. The framework on which we will do this is Express.js. It is one of the most popular today and it is perfect for the task we are solving. First, we specify the controller that will process the HTML:. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Javalin and ExpressJS, you can also consider the following products

Spark Framework - Spark Framework is a simple and lightweight Java web framework built for rapid development.

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

vert.x - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ruby on Rails - Ruby on Rails is an open source full-stack web application framework for the Ruby programming...

Micronaut Framework - Build modular easily testable microservice & serverless apps

Laravel - A PHP Framework For Web Artisans